I've been baking cinnamon rolls recently. Except that I've substituted cinnamon-creme with bitter orange flavoured quark. According to my test audience, the rolls have been good. I still need to perfect the dough, because I don't think it's airy enough yet.

We must be giving the Spam-mind power every time we make art out of its attempts to sell us things. This one figured out context and everything; it's kinda scary. (That said, that's damn near a haiku that one came up w/)

On topic now: Pancakes! I made some from a mix yesterday, and they turned out as good as pancake from a mix can be. How do you all like pancakes? Recipes? Interesting toppings?

(New to the board, but a passion for food makes this my first choice for a first post!)

My sister and I love to cook together, and between us we can cover a pretty vast array of ethnic styles-- lately we've been tossing around the idea of combining the Mexican food we grew up eating with Indian cuisine. I'm thinking saag paneer tamales, etc. Haven't had a chance to experiment yet, but looking forward to the challenge!

It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to cook for more than just myself, so tonight was my version of My Drunk Kitchen. Asparagus (steamed for 4 minutes) with parmesan and butter, poached eggs (90 seconds or so) and fresh baked bread.

I've found some of my best cookware in the trash. 90% of the stuff people toss when they move is discount-store garbage, but I've found some high-end stuff, like copper-bottomed Revere Ware.I scrape and scour it clean, bleach it, boil water in it, polish it with rubbing compound. If I already have an equivalent item, I donate the new find to Goodwill.

The stock pot in the photo above is the bomb. Shiny, solid, big enough to boil down a turkey carcass.

Right now I'm working on getting replacement beaters for what appears to be a hardly-used stand mixer.

@Orpheus- I think I may have the same recipe you found, but in a copy of Lucky Peach (issue 1), a magazine founded by David Chang of Momofuku. I haven't tried it myself (my cooking abilities are severely hampered by lack of money and kitchen space), but if anything the magazine's worth picking up if you can find a copy online (though it may be expensive as hell now; cover price for #1 was 10 bucks :/)

@StefanJ- Lucky! Any tips on finding stuff like that? Do you find stuff in curbside only? 'Cause it's all dumpsters here, and I am not really able to climb in and out of those...

My parent's berry farm is finally officially operational this year, and their strawberries have been amazing. Dad took me on a tour through the different varieties they're growing... something like 6 strawberries, all different in flavor and growing season. It's a fucking revelation finding a strawberry that tastes completely different than a storebought one. Even some of the other farms in the area go w/ a single variety that's pretty one-dimentional in flavor. So, yeah, if you ever find yourself confronted by a Seascape strawberry plant, pick that fucker clean; it's AMAZING.

Also, I may end up getting tired of eating strawberries by themselves; anyone got a favorite thing to do w/ berries?

I live in an apartment complex. When people move, they often leave stuff in "take me" boxes by the dumpsters.

And, yes, I'm not above snatching stuff from the dumpsters . . . if I can easily reach it. (I pick up steaming piles of dog shit a couple of times a day, so I have a fair tolerance for crud that isn't actually on me.) I've never climbed into a dumpster.

Things tend to appear near the end of the month, when people are moving out. It is hit or miss. For every gleaming stainless steel skillet, there's a dozen cheap aluminum pots with wobbly handles and worn-out nonstick coating. Most stuff isn't even fit for the thrift store donation bin.

@Orpheus - just saw the post, I don't check this thread often. I like making miso broth, which I make using homemade dashi and miso. I also LOVE having japanese noodles with Japanese curry. Basically, make dashi as listed above, and then just dissolve some store bought curry blocks into it (if you get the big package where they come in square blocks, I use about 1 block per serving). I've yet to try making my own japanese curry from scratch. I pretty much get all of my Japanses recipes from that blog I linked to, Just Hungry. I haven't tried making pork broth for ramen yet and I haven't perfected a shoyu broth either, but miso and curry both do fine for me.

I used up the leftover rice I never eat from my sweet and sour delight last night, made pancakes out of them. Found the idea for it here, and while it was pretty good, it may be better applied as a savory side-thing. Definitely warrants some tinkering.